Award Date

1-1-2005

Degree Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Master of Science (MS)

Department

Mechanical Engineering

First Committee Member

Ajit K. Roy

Number of Pages

92

Abstract

The susceptibility of Zircaloy-4 (Zr-4), a leading cladding material for nuclear fuels, to stress corrosion cracking (SCC) has been determined in an acidic solution at ambient and elevated temperatures by using constant-load and slow-strain-rate (SSR) testing techniques. Since the cracking susceptibility of Zr-4 may be influenced by electrochemical potential resulting from the repository environment, SCC testing has been performed under anodic and cathodic controlled potentials (Econt). While no failures were observed at constant load, the results of SSR testing exhibited enhanced ductility but reduced failure stress at elevated temperatures. The corrosion potential, determined by the cyclic potentiodynamic polarization technique, became more active at the elevated temperature. The SCC testing under anodic Econt showed brittle failure, characterized by transgranular cracking, as determined by scanning electron microscopy. The specimens tested with or without cathodic Econt showed dimpled microstructures, indicating ductile failure.

Keywords

Acidic; Controlled; Cracking; Potential; Solutions; Zircaloy

Controlled Subject

Mechanical engineering

File Format

pdf

File Size

2580.48 KB

Degree Grantor

University of Nevada, Las Vegas

Language

English

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